Follow Me and You too can be a Social Recluse!

This is the result of an exercise in a writing class that I'm currently taking. It was quick and fun, and I laughed as I wrote. 

It’s all about positioning. In marketing lingo that means that you create your desired identity in the mind of your target market. The goal is always to mold your image into what you want it to be instead of allowing it to be molded into, well, whatever it molds into without your guidance and strict oversight.

Just remember it’s all about you. So many people think that the purpose of social media is to connect with others and build these relationships. Pshaw. It’s just about you. But to really be seen as a social maven, you must connect with hundreds – no make that thousands – of others. Who are they? Who cares? Just friend, follow and link. See a familiar name. Send them a connection notice. See someone that looks interesting. Send them a connection notice with a few lines of interest and praise.

Being a social recluse is easier than it might appear at first glance, and it really involves two things. First, it’s about connecting with people as mentioned above. They can be brothers, cousins, colleagues, neighbors, or college roommates. But they also can be strangers like the guy in Turkey who cooks in his family’s restaurant and posts his menu every day. Or, it could be that bookish Swede with designer glasses that posts articles from Se&Hör. Who you connect with is important for attracting others because people want to connect with cool people. You, by default, are cool if you have cool connections. Become a member of numerous groups and wear those memberships like badges. Unlike a cocktail party, you don’t have to find a way to work it into the conversation. Your friends and memberships are there for all to see. And admire.

Those awkward cocktail party moments of remembering someone’s birthday, husband’s name, favorite color don’t exist because you have access to that information – as well as what their favorite TV show is, that they just returned from hiking in Estes Park, and that their oldest son James is a freshmen at A&M making them proud Aggie Moms and Dads.

The second requirement is showing up. One of the beauties of being a social recluse is that most of it ‘happens’ from the comfort of your couch or your desk or your patio lounge chair. No fussing or fretting over what to wear. You control the image and can upload and change it often. So, everything matches and is stylish. Those faded red sweat pants and your too-small UT shirt. Invisible. You didn’t wash your face? No biggie. Your hair is pulled back and stringy. No one can see you. Just make sure you cover that small camera on the top of your laptop screen with a Post-It note.

An added benefit: social awkwardness is no longer an issue. Small talk is easier, and frankly better than at a cocktail party, and you don’t have to balance a drink and a plate. Politics and sex are still off limits, yet people do mention their party preferences and post article links that give away their political leanings. Religion is everywhere – there are many prayer requests and ‘I am blessed’ comments – but that doesn’t mean you have to join the fray. Or should I say pray.

You can also attend multiple events at one time. No one is checking at the door. RSVP away. Recommend and give the thumbs up – one of the few times it is socially acceptable to do so – to as many events as you’d like. Parties, galas, art openings. Your social calendar will be jammed.

Position yourself accordingly and you’ll be seen as culturally aware and socially engaged. Just remember to friend, follow and link. And post a comment every now and then.

How to Kill a Mockingbird

In a flashback to Fahrenheit 451, it’s Banned Books Week. Although it’s hard to believe that we are engaging in these practices in 2010, it is happening.

My intent with this post is not to say that we shouldn’t be mindful of what young people read or to what they are exposed. I believe parents hold a great deal of responsibility in this area. 

But back to the books…

From the New York Times’ Learning Network:

Held annually during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of intellectual freedom and draws attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted banning of books across the United States, including books commonly taught in secondary schools.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird are on the list of censored books. What?!

The Lord of the Flies: I read this in high school and it had a profound effect on me, so much so that to this day the mere mention of the title displays vivid images in my mind and yanks at my sense of comfort. According to one challenge, the book is “demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal.” It was dark but real, and I'm glad to have read it then.

Of Mice and Men: Banned because "Steinbeck is known to have had an anti business attitude." Relevance?

Animal Farm: I found this painful to read while in school and went back to it years later knowing that I needed to take the time with this book. Censored! The reason cited was that "Orwell was a communist.”

The Lord of the Rings: “Regarded as satanic.” What’s to be said now that it has become a blockbuster sensation and a story devoured by people of all ages around the globe? It’s classic good versus evil. Tolkien took so much time to create the middle earth, its language, and all that populated it. His works should be celebrated and shared not banned.

1984: The challenge: It was “pro-communist and contained explicit sexual matter.” They had sex in 1984? My focus was on Big Brother and still is.

The Catcher in the Rye: Charles McGrath wrote in JD Salinger’s obituary that “Reading 'Catcher' used to be an essential rite of passage, almost as important as getting your learner’s permit.” It was. Why would we want to change that?

But the bigger question is why do we want to ban books?

Reading opens us up to emotions, ideas, situations, and locations that may or may not be familiar to us. Living someone else’s life as we turn each page brings us new experiences and helps shape who we are. Some times, words on a page articulate thoughts and feelings that rise from within and with which we wrestle for understanding. Other times it's just light and airy and breezy.

Censorship is control, and control is usually sought to further a particular motivation or intention. As I said, parents have a tremendous responsibility to help regulate to what their children are exposed. Instead of banning a list of books and taking them out of circulation for everyone, recognize that maturity levels differ, personal perspectives are unique, and the back-story of young people’s lives isn’t always known by a school board or a teacher or an advocacy group. Parents can have the last word.

There are two sides to this issue: the freedom to choose what to read and the freedom to express oneself in writing books.

What do you think about this?

The 10 most challenged titles can be found here. And a great deal more information can be found here.

Inspiration & Discovery

The cool weather arrived today, formalizing the transition from summer to fall. Things will change: what we wear, what we eat, and so on. Every period is inspired uniquely, so I thought I'd kick off the week by sharing some of the things that have been influencing me and some of my recent discoveries. I love these evolutions and look forward to what the fall winds will bring.

A recent dinner that included the Spinach-Shiitake Bread Puddings was outstanding. Food & Wine has a slideshow here of six savory bread pudding recipes. Worth a try.

Last week, Musiqa presented a free concert at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston as part of its Loft Series. I'm relatively new to contemporary classical but truly enjoyed the blend of music and visuals. The next free concert is November 7. More details here. And don't miss the first of the subscription concerts featuring a Stewart Wallace premiere from his opera based on Amy Tan's novel. More info here.

I read Art Daily and receive their newsletter via email. Stunning photographs and always a good review of what's going on around the world. Worth a look here.

Invariably, I have a stack of books on my bedside, the coffee table, my desk... I am particularly enjoying Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul: Memories and the City and Haruki Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Vintage International). I'm reading Sun, Stone, and Shadows 20 Great Mexican Short Stories (Tezontle) and Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe.

It's easy to go back to Georgia O'Keefe's work and see it anew. Quite a bit of it here.

Camel is all over fall fashion. Chloe put forth some nice pieces on the winter runway here.

Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker: Simple and Sophisticated Meals from Around the World has several tabs. Chili that lists cocoa as an ingredient? It has my undivided attention.

This is just a small sample of what's happening in my world. What about you?

Inside April 1st

The latest from the April 1st Project:

Nicola Parente is Wide Awake

I published this article on The Amp, the new Crawford & Ria website.

Nicola Parente began painting late in life but caught up and earned an international reputation before he hit 40. Armed with an MBA because that was what was expected of him – he comes from a family of entrepreneurs – Nicola started his professional career in business. Actually, as a wine importer and distributor.

Only that day dawns to which we are awake.

These are Thoreau’s words, and they have inspired Nicola’s newest body of work titled “Edge of Awakening” opening this Friday, September 10th at Gremillion & Co. Fine Art, Houston.

The work “explores neither awakening nor its opposite, but the uncertain worlds between the two where each person must choose among possibilities. Those choices, those points of decision, visited and re-visited, both discover and invent the nature of our lives.”

Flash back.

In a conversation with an old friend about regrets, Nicola pondered what he would lament with the passage of time.

“Not being an artist.”

He couldn’t come up with reasons not to jump in and try it. His friend encouraged him. The old stereotypes of starving artists living under bridges, the impossibility of success, and that it was unthinkable as a full-time existence weren’t enough to deter him. The future was his. No remorse.

Two years later, Nicola had the same conversation with the same friend. While he had been “dabbling,” he hadn’t really committed himself to his art and couldn’t shirk the responsibility of answering to ‘Why not?’

Flash forward.

Nicola is where he wants to be and where he is most comfortable: the art world.

He began by showing his work in restaurants and coffee houses about 12 years ago. His first break came shortly after when he was asked to exhibit in a gallery, and it wasn’t long before he had his first solo show.

In 2009, he participated in Transparent/Translucent, curated by Wade Wilson, at the Museum Gallery at the University of Texas in San Antonio. A museum show!

Not bad.

Many variables have contributed to Nicola’s success, but the one that he points to and laughs about – a strategic plan. Music to my ears.

Once Nicola had launched into painting, another of his supportive friends urged him to develop a path with clear goals. He had an MBA. He knew about this stuff. When he was at the University of St. Thomas, he used all of his projects and case studies to focus on art, but now, it didn’t seem important.

When he was awarded a grant from Creative Capital that was spearheaded by DiverseWorks, that all changed. “The first thing they said was that we each needed a strategic plan,” he laughs. “There it was again.”

Nicola says that it forced him to start putting things in writing, to articulate what he wanted from his life and his art. “Once you start putting things in writing, they come to fruition,” he continues. “You put it out there in the universe, it’s pretty amazing, you put it out there and you get a lot back.”

One of his goals: To be in a museum show within three years. It happened in two.

Nicola has participated in numerous exhibits in the United States and Italy. His relationship with Gremillion & Co. Fine Art has been incredibly rewarding, and this is his second solo exhibit at the gallery.

Nicola’s work is organic on many levels. Themes include the displacement of people, the redevelopment of communities, and the sustainability of water. His earlier works can be viewed on his website.

Of his new series, “Edge of Awakening”, Nicola says, “Art is a venture into worlds that are often only discovered in the attempt to represent them to yourself and others.”

He prefers to paint in series, “exploring multiple ways of saying not the same thing, but similar things, related things—things that are in process and could go in a multiplicity of directions. The possibility of awakening is also the possibility of remaining unawakened. Our lives are more circuitous than linear, living in more than one environment, a step forward, a step back, moving through a land with no clear boundaries whose silence we interrupt with both our words as well as our marks of paint, discovering and inventing our futures.”

The circuitous part of Nicola’s life makes him an active member of the Houston community. The world according to Nicola is not bound by his studio walls.

With Writer’s in the Schools, Nicola teaches students about art and music and helps them articulate what they see. He creates visuals of their words for discussion and also asks their opinion of his other paintings. He enjoys getting out and interacting with the students. Don’t be fooled. He smiles, “I learn so much from the students as well.”

Over the last year, Nicola has generously donated his artwork to help raise over $19,000 for non-profits and their efforts. In 2009 for example, he was the featured artist at the annual Art for Arthritis benefit and auction, which helps the Arthritis Foundation improve lives through leadership in the prevention, control, and cure of arthritis and related diseases.

He also enjoys working with other artists. In 2008, he collaborated with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in designing and creating the set for the World Premiere of Terminus, which is being revived this season and presented on October 21 through 23 at Zilkha Hall. In 2009, Nicola and fellow artist Divya Murthy created two site-specific installations at the Art League Houston, and each November he participates in Dia do los Muertos at Lawndale Art Center.

And there’s more.

Nicola is a huge supporter of the Houston theatre and arts community. He gets out and visits galleries to support other artists and to see what they’re working on.

He admires the work of local artists Michael Arcieri and Patrick Palmer. Both also have studios at Winter Street Studios where Nicola spends time wielding his brush. The Chilean artist Roberto Matta has had a profound influence on his work, and Nicola has spent significant time studying his paintings at The Menil Collection, which has a large body of Matta’s art.

Nicola believes that music influences art, and it is a big part of his process. He’s been told that rhythm can be seen in his work. Again he smiles (he does that a lot). In his studio, you’re apt to hear everything from opera to rap. He loses himself in the sound and emerges astonished at what he’s produced on the canvas as a result.

“Once I dedicated my life and went into my studio and began painting full time, I have found the possibilities endless. Once I opened my mind to the creative side, I had all of these ideas,” he says.

Nicola’s “Edge of Awakening” exhibit will be on view at Gremillion & Co. Fine Art, Houston through October 9th. To view more of his art, visit the gallery online, read his blog, and click through on the links below.

Here’s to you Nicola! Cheers!

Nicola Parente’s Website

Nicola Parente’s Blog

Gremillion & Co. Fine Art, Houston

Black and White

I have a handful of photo apps on my iPhone: Camera Bag, Quad Camera, Polarize, Sepia Camera, Photogene, Camera Zoom, Color Splash, and Toy Camera. Not only does the iPhone inspire me to snap away, it provides fun tools to do so. Toy Camera is the latest download, and I'm still working out the best way to use all of its options. It has several modes, including vintage green, vintage warm, and vintage yellow. The sample photos that are included in the settings showcase how you can use this and to what effect. While I have used the vintage settings, I haven't yet taken a photo that really rocks as a result. For black and white, Toy Camera allows either rich or high contrast, and it also provides an option for either low or high saturation. Here are a few of the recent black and white shots: